Anna Tóth and Luca Kozák both advanced to the semifinals in the women’s 60m hurdles on the opening day of the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn on Thursday.
In the first round, four heats were held, with the top three in each heat automatically qualifying for the semifinals, along with the next four fastest sprinters based on time.
At the Hungarian National Championships in Nyíregyháza a week and a half ago, the two Hungarian athletes had a thrilling and closely contested battle, where national champion Anna Tóth secured the gold. In Apeldoorn, she was placed in the first heat, while Kozák, who won a European silver medal in the 100m hurdles outdoors, competed in the fourth heat.
Tóth, representing Diósgyőr, arrived in the Netherlands with a personal best of 7.95 seconds—an U23 national record—set during the championship final. She competed in the same heat as Dutch favorite Nadine Visser. Although Tóth did not get the best start, she maintained a strong pace over the hurdles and finished in a close race for third place. With Visser winning in 7.89 seconds and Finland’s Lotta Harala taking second in 8.00 seconds, Tóth finished alongside Italy’s Elisa Maria Di Lazzaro and France’s Sacha Alessandrini. The photo finish placed her in fourth, missing out on automatic qualification, but her time of 8.05 seconds was enough to advance to the semifinals.
Debrecen’s Luca Kozák struggled to find her form during the winter season but showed promise with a time of 7.97 seconds at the national championships. In her heat at the European Championships, she ran an excellent race but lost rhythm slightly after the final hurdle, finishing in fifth place. However, her time of 8.04 seconds was enough to secure a spot in Friday morning’s semifinals.
Later on the opening day, Dániel Eszes and Bálint Szeles will compete in the men’s 60m hurdles heats.
